Given the number and complexity of components on any integrated circuit (IC), it is rarely the case that all of these components can function optimally using a single voltage supply. However, the use of many different voltage supplies, whether external or internal to the IC, may be undesirable. Additional external voltage supplies required in order for the IC to operate correctly may be inconvenient for the user of the IC. Additional voltage supplies internal to the IC may violate area requirements of a chip.
Consequently, a common method by which to generate the different voltage supplies required by each of the components is to build auxiliary circuitry onto the IC that generates the different voltages. A charge pump is one such auxiliary circuit that functions as a DC to DC converter. The charge pump takes in an input voltage and generates an output voltage that is either higher in magnitude or lower in magnitude than the input voltage, depending on the application required. Charge pumps generally utilize an energy storage element to generate the output voltage.